What about you? On a scale of 1-10, 10 being “I consistently exercised and ate healthfully during the winter,” how would you rate yourself? Are you proud of your winter accomplishments or are you ready to start anew and re-establish some healthier practices?  Warmer, longer days, and lighter eating are a sure-fire way to help you kick the post-winter doldrums and help you feel better in your body.

I’m of the mind that no matter what you may have done yesterday, last week or over the last several months, there’s really no value in beating yourself up if you didn’t achieve your goals. Rather, why not start fresh with a renewed sense of vigor and energy by making a few small, but simple changes.

Here are three suggestions for healthy practices you can begin this week.  Try one or try them all as you transition to spring:

1.       Eat more greens! You may know that eating dark leafy greens is one of the best ways to cleanse your body during spring.  Greens are not only a natural energizer (no caffeine needed!) but they help clear lung congestion, boost the immune system,  detoxify your kidneys and liver, improve circulation and give your body a healthy rest from too many congesting foods such as meat, dairy and sugar. And with the plethora of delicious greens from which to choose (kale, collards, spinach, chard, bok choy, mustard greens, arugula, just to name a few), adding them to your diet doesn’t have to be hard.  Here’s a recipe idea for a simple and tasty side dish that’s chock full of immune boosting nutrients your body will love.

 2.       Build in daily exercise.  It’s so easy to put on weight during the winter when we’re usually less active and can fall off the wagon, yours truly included. But instead of vowing you’re going to exercise an hour a day, or something that might be unrealistic, why not consider what’s realistic for you?  What about 10 or 20 minutes of exercise every day and then work up from there? I like to start simple, find a consistent rhythm that fits in my schedule and build on my success.  Most days I do a 20-30 minute strength or cardio workout in the morning before work and then walk as much as I can during the day.  Soon I plan to start walking to work so I can be more consistent in my mileage.  What about you? What can you start doing this week to exercise that you would enjoy?  In my book, brief and steady exercise that increases over time trumps the overly ambitious plan that never comes to fruition.  

3.       Scrape your tongue.  In Ayurveda, the traditional medicine of India, one of the daily practices to stay healthy is tongue scraping (also known as tongue cleaning).  This simple metal tool (or even a teaspoon will do the trick), removes the layer of toxins, bacteria and dead cells that accumulate on the tongue and can lead to bad breath.   While brushing our teeth supports healthy gums and the prevention of plaque and tartar, brushing your tongue doesn’t adequately remove the toxins.   This is an especially helpful practice as you focus on detoxing from heavy winter foods.  I consistently scrape my tongue first thing when I get up in the morning before I do almost anything else. A tongue scraper is a simple tool to use and you can purchase one in your grocery store or local pharmacy.

Are you ready to embrace a lighter way to eat, more exercise and better health? Which of these three ideas can you start implementing this week?  How can you develop some consistent spring habits?

The truth of the matter is that bitter greens like dandelion greens are highly cleansing and give our systems a fabulous spring kick-start.  Bitter greens help our liver and kidneys to detox, a key phase of “spring cleaning” after a winter of heavy, fatty foods to help us stay warm (or of course we could actually avoid some of those heavy, fatty foods and just put on a sweater).  

Like a lot of other dark leafy greens, dandelion greens are rich in antioxidants and important minerals like calcium, iron and potassium. But did you also know that these potent greens are a natural anti-viral and aid in digestion? Given my recent shingles outbreak, I’m eating lots of raw, dandelion greens to help me on the road to recovery.  And did you know that they help prevent PMS? (Hello ladies! what better a natural prescription than this?)  They also help prevent breast tumors, support clearer skin (as someone with eczema, I’m all over this) and can aid in relieving jaundice, gout and edema. Wow, that’s one potent vegetable!

But here’s the thing, if you’re not naturally drawn to bitter foods, how do you consume them in a way that’s palatable. Here are a few ideas:

• Juice them along with other fruits and veggies to balance the taste. Today I juiced the dandelion greens along with celery, cucumber and a few apples. It was still a bit bitter but lightened the flavor.
• Add dandelion greens to your favorite fruit and veggie smoothie. I regularly add them to a mix of banana and an orange or a pear, to make a healthy and delicious morning drink
• Chop finely and add to your salad along with other, more mild greens and your favorite salad fixings
• Simmer them for about 5 minutes to remove some of the bitter taste (but drink the water that’s full of nutrients)

Are you a fan of dandelion greens? Tell us about your experiences and what you do to get the nutritional benefit while balancing the sharp flavor.

But there are numerous ways to do a cleanse and reap the benefits of better health. Check out this week’s audio tip on how you can get started and learn more.

What’s worked for you in the past when doing a cleanse? And if you’re new to it, what inspires you about doing one?

So I had a much needed appointment with Mary, a hydrotherapist, this afternoon after work. This, has made all the difference in the world. If you’re not so up on the terminology, simply put, it’s a colonic. And contrary to what you might be thinking, it’s a gentle, immensely helpful way to get things moving.  Just like other parts of the body, the colon needs to be properly hydrated to work optimally.  When we’re dehydrated (and most of us are, yours truly included!), eating poorly and not taking good care of ourselves, things can get, well, a bit backed up.

How am I feeling post treatment?  Much, much lighter and all that bloating has gone way (and let’s face it, we are what we eat — keep up poor eating year and year and you can only imagine what that can lead to). Quite frankly, it’s amazing. And the cleanse has contributed greatly to this.  Easily digestible raw juices are a little catalyst to make your digestive system much more clean and efficient. I know it might sound kind of gross, but hey, I want you to be totally informed and understand the power of a cleanse, especially when it’s all natural.

Ever been for a hydrotherapy treatment? In what way, if any, did it help you?

I’ve definitely been surprised to find out that not having everything hot, especially in the middle of winter, in one of the coldest weeks we’ve had, is actually tolerable. I might even say doable.

Every morning I’ve been picking up my allotment of freshly made organic juices, smoothies and soup at my friend Glen’s cafe.  And I’ve been surprised by how great soup can taste at room temperature. Each day we’ve been treated to a delicious concoction of healing and cleansing ingredients. To give you an idea, yesterday’s soup was asparagus, tomato, avocado, parsley, sun dried tomato, yellow pepper, lemon, lime, green onion, Braggs amino acids and Italian seasoning. Delicious. Today’s soup was even better and it was seriously green – dandelion greens, spirulina, sunflower seeds and a host of other super healthy ingredients.  But the taste was simply divine. I could definitely eat this every day.

I’ve also noticed that I’m not nearly as hungry as I anticipated I’d be considering I’m eating all liquids for a week. It’s interesting how our body can adapt.  And eating lighter and really tasting the food has increased my mindfulness. It’s a nice and welcome shift from my overeating during the holidays when I was away from home visiting family and gave myself a little license to eat more than usual. Last month my mindfulness went out the window so I’m pleased to be getting back on track.

I like this journey – it’s helping me slow down and tune into my body in interesting ways.

I’ll be the first to admit that I ate more during the holidays than I planned to despite my best intentions.  Something about being away from home, outside of the normal routine and in different facilities that made it especially tough this year.  We were visiting relatives in Florida and somehow I seemed to take that as license to eat A LOT.  So my friend Glen’s timing was perfect.

I’ve done cleanses before but never one that’s totally raw and is only juices and smoothies. Honestly, doing this at home would take me a huge amount of time and since I don’t have some of the tools that make it handy, like a Vitamix blender, it was a long shot for me. This however, is the perfect arrangement.

Today is the second day of the cleanse and I’m doing pretty well though I’m waiting for the “you’ll feel worse before you feel better syndrome.”  So far not too bad — I did have some strange tooth pain this morning and I’ll admit now I’m tuckered out.  But doing the cleanse is helpful for me in multiple ways:

• I’m allowing my body to slow down and get some much needed rest
• I’m going to bed earlier because I’m so tired
• I’m eating beautiful, healthy food that I don’t have to prepare but I have total appreciation for those who did
• I’m investing in myself and making my healthy a priority (a mantra I’m always repeating with my clients)
• I’m starting off the year on a healthy foot, feeling inspired and motivated

How have you used cleanses to help you feel your best? Ever done a raw cleanse? I’d love to hear your thoughts about it. And check back for more updates on my progress this week. 

Check out this week’s audio tip on three things you can do to support yourself in detoxing your system. Believe it or not, this isn’t very complicated. In fact, I find doing a detox incredibly simple, because there are so many things I’m not eating during that period of time.  I actually spend less time in the kitchen and can prepare things in a snap. Tune in and you’ll hear my personal approach to detoxing and what works for me. It might give you some insights and inspiration about your own health.

Have some thoughts about doing a detox? Share them here.

The reality, however, is that everyday we ingest a variety of different toxins that slow down our system and have us feeling less than our best. Take a listen to today’s audio tip to learn about why detoxing our body is so important and necessary.

Have you ever done a detox before? What was it like? One of my favorite experts is Dr. Elson Haas. He has numerous years of experience with detoxification and healing the body naturally with foods. Check out his book, The New Detox Diet for more information and inspiration on simple ways to get started. And share your thoughts below on how you’ve used detox diets to help you feel your best.